The Mage and the Demon
by thegirlofmanymoods
Summary: When a Host finds their Oplo both feel complete and find unity and friendship with each other. That's what Sakura, a Host, is led to believe. Yet when she finds her Oplo match, a redhead with a fierce temper named Gaara, what they feel for each other is the complete opposite of unity. But when Sakura finds out about the Tatakai tournament she's determined to make them work together
"Here we go again," Sakura said as she and Ino walked into the building. "Matcha: Bringing Hosts and Oplos together for over fifty years" was written in giant letters on the front of the building. It looked rather tacky to her, but it must have helped somehow as Matcha was the leading matching business in Konoha.

"Think positive," Ino said as they went to the front desk. The inside of the building had blue and green walls and had several pictures strewn about with successful Host and Oplo pairings on them. "This could be the day you meet your Oplo."

"Unlike the last 10 times we tried," Sakura pointed out.

"Be grateful you're a Host," Ino said. "Bonded to someone perfect for you, fighting together in competitions, go on quests together, it sounds so incredible."

"It would be, if I actually found my Oplo," Sakura said.

"Sakura Haruno," the man at the desk said. "Welcome back."

"Hi," Sakura replied. "Quick question, am I the only client you know the name of?"

"Uh," the man's happy expression changed to a surprised and slightly cautious one. "It is true that most of our clients are able to find their partner within one or two visits. So yes it is a little rare for us to know the names of our clients."

"See," Sakura insisted to Ino, flinging her arms into the air. "I'm cursed! I'm never going to find a fighting partner." Or a romantic partner, she added miserably in her head.

"Maybe today will be different," the man insisted with a smile.

"I doubt it, but I guess I may as well try anyway," she said as she put down some money. There goes even more of her savings.

The man took the money then got up. "Come with me." He led the two young women through a hallway to a room with a large machine and some chairs.

As they went in a boy walked out with an adult and a young girl with blue skin. "Yeah, I got my Oplo!" The boy exclaimed. He gave a high five to the girl, presumably his Oplo, before she turned into a blue bird and sat on his shoulder. The boy looked about 12, the age Hosts usually found their Oplo, unlike her who was 18.

Ino saw Sakura eyeing the boy as he went down the hall and flicked her nose. "Oh, brighten up!"

Sakura frowned and wrinkled her nose but didn't retaliate as they stepped into the room. "Right over here," the man said as he led them to some chairs. She and Ino sat down. "Best of luck," he said as he left, shutting the door behind him.

A woman approached them. "Hello," she looked like she was readying a speech until she took a second look at Sakura. "Oh, hello again. I assume you remember the procedure?"

Sakura nodded and offered her arm. The woman lifted a needle and took a vial of Sakura's blood. Then she went to a nearby machine and pressed a button. The woman peered down a microscope as a whirling sound emitted from the machine. After several minutes the woman turned around. Sakura knew from the look on the woman's face that it had failed. "I'm sorry," she said. "We were not able to match you with any of Oplos we have on record."

"Figures," Sakura said as she looked down. It had been pointless coming here.

"Thanks for looking," Ino told the woman as they got up.

"That was a waste of yen," Sakura said as they walked out. "I'm doomed to be alone forever."

"Knock it off," Ino said. "You've been like this all day. There are other ways to find your Oplo."

"Yeah, but none of them have worked," Sakura whined. Ino gave her a dark look that said that she was done with this and Sakura forced a smile. "Sorry. Ready to shop?"

"Yes!" Ino exclaimed. "My feet have been practically screaming for new shoes."

"Really?" Sakura said, now with a real smile, as they walked down the street. "I didn't know feet were capable of doing that."

"When a body part is wearing something out of fashion it is capable of anything," Ino said. "You're trying to be a medic, you should know that." She opened her mouth to make another comment when a loud banging sound made her stop.

"Catch it!" A voice rang out. Sakura and Ino looked at each other then hurried towards the voice. They looked down an alleyway and saw three people chasing after what looked like a racoon covered in sand. It was slightly larger than a normal raccoon and the little bit of fur Sakura could see that wasn't covered in sand was red in colour. A blue glow emitted from its paws as it ran along the wall of a building. That was chakra. That was no ordinary racoon, that was an Oplo. And it was currently running in their direction.

"Move out of the way!" One of the people chasing them, a man with red marks on his face, yelled to them.

Another person tried to grab the racoon. The sand on the racoon's body shot towards them, hitting them in the chest and throwing them to a wall on the opposite side of the alley. Sakura's eyes grew wide. It was able to slam someone with just a little bit of sand?

"Move!" The man repeated.

Ino was right beside the wall that the racoon was on, and the racoon was currently running towards her. More likely going to attempt to run past her, but Ino was still in the way. But judging by Ino's expression she didn't realise it until it was too late. Sakura grabbed her and tried to shove her out of the way. Ino moved, but not quite in time. The racoon slammed into Ino's arm with enough force to knock her and Sakura to the ground. They landed with a thud. As soon as they landed the racoon ran off of Ino and turned a corner. The 3 following it soon did the same, though they had to divert their path around Ino and Sakura.

"You okay?" Sakura asked Ino.

Ino rubbed her arm where there was currently a thin gash from when the racoon dug its claws in and then jumped off. "I'll be fine," she said as she rubbed a small amount of blood between her fingers.

Sakura dug into her bag and took out some antiseptic wipes and a bandage and handed them to Ino. "Thanks," Ino said as she took them. "You know, there's one positive from this."

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"At least you don't have that thing as you're Oplo," Ino said as she broke open a wipe from its package. "No Oplo is better than that one."

Hours later Sakura walked back home from her shopping trip. While her savings took another hit she now had some new shoes and a new medical textbook. She was excited to dig into it as soon as entered her apartment. Maybe she could impress her mentor Tsunade with her knowledge.

"Sakura," Tsunade would say with stars in her eyes. "Your vast medical knowledge is outstanding! You deserve a promotion and a raise!" Okay, so maybe she wouldn't say exactly that. But Sakura could always hope.

She was just at the apartment complex when she saw Jiro, one of her neighbors, running out of it. "Ahh!" He yelled as his blond hair flopped about.

"What is it?" She asked, rushing towards him.

"Racoon!" He exclaimed. "There's a racoon in my apartment. It's evil! It knocked over my paintings and when I tried to grab it the racoon threw sand at me that forced me to the ground."

"That's the same racoon Ino and I saw earlier," Sakura said.

Jiro wasn't paying attention. "Run!" He said. "Run while you still have legs." He ran down the street, yelling to all who could hear him about the racoon.

She looked back at the building. Should she go in? Jiro would obviously say no but then again the man was prone to exaggerate. Any time someone did something really loud in the building he complained that he was going deaf. Not just figuratively but literally deaf. She decided to enter. Maybe Ino was right and she did have a death wish when it came to danger.

Nothing looked out of place in the entrance. There were still plenty of fake flowers around the tables and it smelled of lavender thanks to a few air fresheners. She slowly and cautiously began to walk towards down the hallway to the stairs. Theoretically if it's in Jiro's apartment she shouldn't have an encounter with it.

Why was the Oplo acting like this? It's not like they had the intelligence of a racoon while they were in racoon form, they still thought with the intelligence they had while in human form. So they weren't just acting like a rabid animal for no reason. And they were obviously being hunted down for something. Jiro's apartment was probably a temporary hide out for them, which may have worked except Jiro had the tendency to freak out and yell about anything remotely threatening. The Oplo was probably going to need to find a new hiding place.

That thought should have made her stop and exit the building, at least temporarily, but she kept going. Part of her thought she wouldn't encounter them again and part of her was a little curious about them. Maybe she'd see it again when it wasn't trying to make a mad dash.

Sakura opened the door to the staircase and saw the most attractive man she ever seen in her life sitting on the stairs. He had unruly red hair, not carrot red, but deep crimson. His body had the muscled physique of a fighter. His eyes were pale and…centered on her.

"Hello," she greeted. "My name's Sakura. Are you new here?"

She was met with silence. "So…have you seen a racoon around here? It gave one of the residents here quite the fright."

He didn't say anything, but his eyes narrowed a little and his muscles tensed. His arms moved from a crossed position to a straightened one. "Is everything oka-" She started to ask before she noticed the sand that fell when his arms changed position. That sand, and how the colour of his hair matched the racoon's fur, there was only one explanation. "You are the racoon," she said. She recalled the scratch that he had given Ino and she felt fear. Her self-preservation kicked in, she didn't want to see the racoon that badly.

"Well it was nice to meet you but I kind of have to go," she said, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice but failing to do so. She walked backwards through the entrance of the staircase and grabbed the door handle. She tried to shut it as she walked out but before she could shut the door sand crept out beside her hand and pushed it open. The force of it jerked her arm, and her body, forward back into the stair room. A gasp escaped her lips.

After the door opened the sand moved from the door to her wrist. "What are you doing? Let me go!" She tried in vain to scratch the sand off her wrist with her other hand.

The sand jerked her forward while the man moved to run out the door. While he ran the sand released its grip on Sakura's hand and she lost her footing. In an effort to regain her balance she reached out and grabbed something to help her stand up, which happened to be the man's arm. He moved to push her grip off, but his eyes widened, and he stopped.

Sakura wondered what came over him, but then she felt something. It felt like an invisible thread was between them. Not one that was just made, but one that was there before that she just now recognized. While she had never felt it before, she immediately knew what it meant. "You…," she said slowly, her eyes wide. "You're my match."

His eyes showed surprise and distaste. But before either of them could react three people ran towards them. Sakura immediately recognized them as the ones who had tried to find him earlier. "What's going on?" The one with red markings on his face asked. His eyes settled on her. "Who are you?"

"I," she gave the redheaded man an uneasy look before continuing. "I think I'm his Host."

This is a different version of my previous story, hence why it's re-uploaded in the same story spot. While I had liked the concept behind my original, I didn't like the high school aspect it had. This takes place when Sakura is out of school. Just as before, this is inspired by a story from Friglit on FictionPress called Good Dogs Don't Bite.


End file.
